Among the 31 largest metro areas in the U.S., the Tampa metro area is the third most cost-friendly business location, according to the 2016 Competitive Alternatives study by tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP. These 31 metro areas have populations of 2 million or more.
Greater TAMPA has a cost index of 94.6, more than five points below the baseline cost index of 100, and just sixth-tenths more than the most cost friendly metro area, which is Cincinnati, Ohio, and just two-tenths more than the second most cost-friendly location, which is Orlando. The baseline cost index is the average business cost in the four largest U.S. metro areas: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth.
KPMG considered 26 major cost components, including labor, facilities, corporate taxes, property taxes, utilities and transportation, commonly incurred in seven types of business-to-business service operations and 12 types of manufacturing operations.
The 10 most cost-friendly business locations among the 31 U.S. largest metro areas:
| Rank | Metro Area | Cost Index |
| 1 | Cincinnati, Ohio | 94.0 |
| 2 | Orlando, Florida | 94.4 |
| 3 | TAMPA, Florida | 94.6 |
| 4 | Cleveland, Ohio | 94.6 |
| 5 | San Antonio, Texas | 94.7 |
| 6 | Atlanta, Georgia | 95.1 |
| 7 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 95.2 |
| 8 | Miami, Florida | 95.4 |
| 9 | Saint Louis, Missouri | 96.1 |
| 10 | Kansas City, Missouri | 96.2 |
The 10 most expensive business locations among the 13 U.S. largest metro areas:
| Rank | Metro Area | Cost Index |
| 1 | New York City, New York | 104.7 |
| 2 | San Francisco, California | 104.5 |
| 3 | Boston, Massachusetts | 101.2 |
| 4 | Los Angeles, California | 100.8 |
| 5 | Seattle, Washington | 100.8 |
| 6 | San Diego, California | 99.9 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 99.8 |
| 8 | North Virginia, Metro D.C. | 99.4 |
| 9 | Riverside-San Bernardino, California | 98.5 |
| 10 | Sacramento, California | 98.5 |
In just the first months of 2016 alone, several companies have already relocated to Tampa, in addition to the relatively big number of companies which have already expanded in Tampa or moved to the Tampa Bay metro area in recent years. These companies that have expanded in early 2016 are:
Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.
Cohesion
Granex
SunView Software
Integrity Express Logistics
Gordon Food Services
According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area has been adding 44,300 new private-sector jobs year over year, with the most additions to the professional and business services sectors and the leisure and hospitality sectors. The Tampa Bay area also is first in the state of Florida in demand for high-skill science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations, which are among jobs that offer high wages.